Barbados — books & literature

The story of Barbados

Barbados's human history is short compared to much of the Caribbean: earlier Amerindian peoples, including Arawak and later Kalinago groups, are known to have lived on the island, but it was uninhabited when English colonists arrived. Portuguese sailors passed by in the 1500s and gave the island its name, but it was England that claimed and settled it, landing at Holetown in 1627. Barbados quickly became one of England's most valuable colonies, pioneering a sugar-plantation economy built on the forced labour of enslaved Africans; its House of Assembly, founded in 1639, became one of the oldest legislatures in the Western Hemisphere. The plantation system endured for two centuries, punctuated by resistance including Bussa's Rebellion of 1816, the largest slave revolt in the island's history, until abolition in 1834. Barbados remained a British colony without ever changing colonial hands, gaining full internal self-government in 1961 and independence on 30 November 1966 under Prime Minister Errol Barrow. Exactly 55 years later, on 30 November 2021, Barbados completed its constitutional journey by becoming a republic, replacing the monarch with a ceremonial president. Today it is a stable Caribbean democracy known for cricket, calypso and Crop Over, and as the birthplace of global icons like Rihanna.

Timeline — key moments

1. circa 1536

   Portuguese sailors pass the island and are credited with naming it "Os Barbados" ("the bearded ones"), after its bearded fig trees.

2. 1627

   First permanent English settlers land at Holetown, claiming Barbados as an English colony.

3. 1639

   Barbados's House of Assembly is established, becoming one of the oldest parliaments in the Western Hemisphere.

4. 1816

   Bussa's Rebellion, the largest slave revolt in Barbadian history, breaks out on 14-16 April.

5. 1834

   Slavery is abolished across the British Empire, including Barbados.

6. 1961

   Barbados achieves full internal self-government.

7. 1966

   Independence from the United Kingdom on 30 November; Errol Barrow becomes first Prime Minister.

8. 2021

   Barbados becomes a republic on 30 November, replacing the monarchy with a ceremonial president.

Top 10 things to know about Barbados

1. Barbados is the most easterly island in the Caribbean, standing apart from the main volcanic island arc.
2. Its House of Assembly, established in 1639, is one of the oldest parliaments in the Western Hemisphere.
3. Barbados was a British colony for more than 300 years (1627-1966) and, unlike most Caribbean islands, never changed hands to another colonial power.
4. On 30 November 2021, Barbados became a republic, replacing the British monarch with a ceremonial president.
5. Rihanna, one of the best-selling music artists of all time, was born in Bridgetown and named a National Hero in 2021.
6. Cricket is a national passion; Sir Garfield Sobers, widely regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders in the sport's history, is Barbadian.
7. The island's name likely comes from the Portuguese "os barbados" ("the bearded ones"), referring to its bearded fig trees.
8. Bridgetown's historic Garrison area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
9. Barbados pioneered large-scale sugar-plantation slavery in the English Caribbean during the 17th century, a model later exported across the region.
10. The Barbadian dollar has been pegged at 2-to-1 with the US dollar since 1975, giving the economy long-term currency stability.

Famous people from Barbados

Say it in Barbados's language

Did you know?

• ★Barbados's name likely comes from the Portuguese "os barbados" ("the bearded ones"), a reference to the island's bearded fig trees.
• ★Unlike most Caribbean islands, Barbados was never passed between colonial powers , it stayed a single British colony for over three centuries.
• ★Barbados became a republic on 30 November 2021, exactly 55 years to the day after its 1966 independence.

Barbados culture

• Crop Over, held July-August, is Barbados's biggest festival, rooted in the historic celebration of the sugar-cane harvest by enslaved plantation workers.
• Cricket is central to national life; Kensington Oval in Bridgetown is a storied home ground of West Indies cricket.
• Cou-cou and flying fish, pairing a cornmeal-okra dish with the island's abundant flying fish, is the national dish.
• Bajan (Barbadian) Creole, an English-lexicon dialect with African and British roots, is spoken alongside standard English in everyday life.

Why read Barbados's books

Barbados gave Caribbean literature one of its founding voices in George Lamming, whose novels of colonial childhood and identity helped define the region's postcolonial imagination , a tradition this shelf continues.